Rug-rolling machine



W. H. LUTZ.

RUG ROLLINGMACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 17. 1917.

- Patented June 8, 1920.

9 SHEETS-SHEET I- lllllllIllllll! lllll IIIIIIHH W. H. LUTZ.

RUG ROLLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 17. 1917.

1,342,556. I PatentedJun s, 1920.

9 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

w. H. LU TZ. RUG ROLLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 17, 1917.

Patented June 8, 1920.

9 SHEETSSHEET 4- W. H. LUTZ; RUG ROLLING MACHINE.

I APPLICATION FILED JULY 17, I917. 1,342,556, Patented June 8, 1920. 9SHEETS-SHEET 6.

@w 8. 01v 4 mm. 6-5. I

w. H. LUTZ. RUG ROLLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY I7, 1917.-

T M mm J I m .mbvQ n A m 2 P 0 w w 3 5 N UH M W. H. LUTZ.

RUG ROLLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 17, I917.

9 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

' 1,342,556. Patented June 8, 1 9 20.

W. H. LUTZ.

" R UG ROLLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY I71 191?.

Patented June 8, 1920.

9 SHEETS-SHEET 9.

yuan/"I 4 III If-I" Hmmnw ATTORNEY.

g stares ears FFE CE.

- RUG-ROLLING MACHINE.

"Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedJune8.1920.

Application filed July 17, 1917. Serial No. 181,172.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that IflVILLiAM H. 'LUTZ, a citizen of' the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania. have invented a certain new} and useful Improvement inRug-Rolling'Machines, of which the following is'a specification.

The present invention relates to amachine for rolling'rugs; carpets'andlengths of material generally into rolls or Cylindrical packages forshipment, storage or any ordinary use. An object of the invention is toprovide a -mechanism for automatically handling lengths 'ot'material ofany kind and 'by which the said lengths are. successively andindividually formed into rolls, each being then a complete unit ofcompact form.

'A further object of the. inventionv is to provide a feed mechanismwhich operates in a predetermined manner todeliver lengths of materialto'a rolling and forming mechanism in accordance with the operatingconditions existing in said forming mechanism. A further object of theinvention is to provide a torming'mechanism whereby a length of materialis accurately rolled'into cylindrical form, while said mechanismautomatically adjusts itself to the variation in the diameter of thegrowing roll and maintains a uniform pressure upon the material so thatthe resultant package is wound true and tight.

A further object to provide a mechanism for automatically ejecting anddelivering a complete roll from'the machine-at the end of each windingor rolling operation.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention, I have shown inthe'a'ccomp'anying drawings one form'thereot ,which is at: presentpreferred by me, since the same has been found in practice togivesatistactory and reliable results, although it is to, beunderstoodthat the various instrumentalities of Figure lrepresents asideelevation of a' material rolling machine ofm invention showing thereceiving end portion of the 7 machine.

Fig. 2 represents a side elevation shown as a continuation of Fig. landshowing the rolling mechanism and its adjuncts.

Fig. 3 represents an elevation of the 1113:. chine taken in thedirection of arrowA of Fig. 2. V j

Fig. 4 represents an enlarged sideelevation of a portion of the machinetaken at the side opposite to that shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 representsa section on line 55 of Fig. 3. v v

. Fig. 6 represents a section on line 66 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 represents a detail in side elevation ot a cam plate. 7 l

Fig. 8 represents Fig. 3.

9 represents an enlarged sectional detail on line 9-9 of Fig. 8. 3

Fig. 10 represents a side elevation of a supporting guide plate. H I vFig. 11 represents an enlarged. detail of the type of movable guide-jawsemployed a section on line 88' of for maintaining a suitablepressure'upon the 1 material while it is beingformed intoa roll.

Fig. 12 represents a sectional detail on line 1 2-12 of Fig. 3, showingthe ejecting device.

Fig. 13 represents a section on line 13'13 ofFig. 3 showing thearrangement of the veyer which delivers the material to the rollingmechanism. Fig. 17 represents an enlarged detail in side elevation ofone of the cam. members for controlling automatically the materialengaging means. 1 1

Fig. 18 represents a side elevation of one of the adjustable journalboxes-for the feed rollers. v

Fig. 19 represents an end elevation of the same. v i

Fig. 20 represents a detail of the operating lever for the feed rollerat the receiving end of the machine. Y Fig. 21 represents a sectiononline 21.21

ioo

of Fig.2 showing the driving means for the conveyer and the automaticalrelease for the same. e r Y Fig. 22 represents an enlarged sideelevation of the frame for the feed rolls at the receiving end of themachine.

Fig. 23 represents a section on line 2323 of Fig. 2 showing the conveyertrack and its adjuncts;

Fig. 241 represents an enlarged detail of the type of material engagingclamp employed to feed the material to the rolling opposite end.

mechanism with the movement of the conveyer.

Fig. 25 represents an end elevation of the material as rolled by themachine.

1 designates generally the frame of the machine which is preferably ofelongated structural form and of a length sufficient.

to accommodate one or more rugs or like shape of material to be rolledas requlred. The frame 1 1s arranged to support throughout one portion afeeding mechanism for the material and at the other portion a mechanismfor rolling or folding the material into a package for shipment orotherwise,

so that the frame and adjuncts supported thereby may, for convenience,be divided into a receiving portion, a feeding portion and a rolling orforming portion, the latter also including, in the present instance, anejecting or discharging means for the formed package or roll. In takingup the description of the apparatus in detail, the

, parts forming the above portions will be treated individually and insequence.

In the former case, the material is fed into the machine for rolling,while in the latter, the table 2 is shifted so that the poorer orrejected grade may traverse the inclined guide-plate 4 and be deliveredby the feed rolls 5 to a receiving platform or truck 6 for removal, aswill be understood.

. The feeding mechanism is located adjacent the recelving table 2 and inposition to readily engage the material delivered to it and consists ofa chain driven conveyer 7 of the endless type passing about thesprockets 8 at one end and similar sprockets 9 at the In the presentinstance, the conveyer sprockets 8 are mounted. upon a transverse shaft10 having bearings in the side frame 11 and which shaft also carries thelower of a pair of feed rolls 12 and 13.

The roll 12 lies between the sprockets 8 and is arranged to support thematerial to be rolled with its opposite side edges in close proximity tothe chains 7. The feed roll 13 is mounted to rotate with the shaft 14'and engage the tracks 29.

which has its ends mounted respectively in journal boxes 15 and thelatter are arranged to slide at will in'yokes 16 of the frame 11.

This sliding action permits the roll 13 to be moved out of its normalcontacting position with the roll 12 in order to insert the end of thematerial and for this purpose the lever 17 is provided, which has alinkconnection 18 with the box 15, as will be understood. The conveyerchain is equipped at suitable intervals with clamping jaws forautomatically attaching the materialitemporarily to the conveyer, and inFig, 2 1 of the drawings one of these members is shown in detail and thedescription thereof will be, understood to apply to all, since they areall of similar construction. 19 designates a member inserted as a linkin thechain and having at one end a roller 20 adapted to cooperate witha track mechanism to be presently described, and at the opposite end ajaw part 21 arranged opposite to a movable jaw 22 upon a pivoted arm 23,which is carried by an extension 2 1 of the link member 19. The arm 23carries roller 25 at the opposite side of-the fulcrum i26jfrom the aw22, for the purpose'of engaging at certain times a cam mechanismvwhichcauses the jaw 22 to be automatically opened and at other times forengaging a mechanism to maintain the jaw in gripping relation with thematerial which it conveys. 27 designates rails located respectively atthe sides of the frame 1 and in the path of movement of conveyer chains7, each of which is provided with a recess or groove 28. forming a trackfor the rollers 20 and also has yieldingly mounted tracks 29 whichrespectively cooperate with the rollers 25 to maintain the jaws properlyclosed at the required time. These tracks 29 are supported upon springmembers 80, the tension ofwhich is suflicient to hold the jaws grippedupon the material in the required manner. 'The opposite ends of therail-bars 27, as well as the tracks carried thereby, are tapered toproperly direct the respective rollers 20 and 25 to the rails, as willbe apparent. 31 designates cam plates secured to the respective frames11 and so positioned with. respect to 1 the conveyer chains as to locatethe cam track 32 in the path of therollers 25, whereby the jaws of theclamps are automatically opened as the conveyer makes the turn adj acentthe receiving end of the machine, and consequently, the material isaccurately fed between the jaws 21 and 22 'of the several clamps", readyto be gripped thereby, as soon as the rolls 25 are released from the cam32 The material may now be carried by the conveyer mech anism to thedischarge end of the conveyer where it passes between the delivery feedrolls 33 and 34, the former of which is mounted substantially similar tothe feed roller 13, while the latter is'carried by the 5 Theside'ilframes 36,-;in'

driven shaft 35. g which the delivery rolls are'journaled, are

practically similar to thef frames 11,. and

have attached to them cam plates serving the same purpose as the camplates 31 and which are therefore; for convenience, given the samereference numerals, since the -func-' tion of the cam is to open the[jaws 21 and 22 and release the material. g

The driving means for operating the con-' veye'r mechanism is preferablyof the intermittent type for the purpose of providing rest periodscoincident with the ejecting operation, in order to allow a sufficientinterval of time for one rug or piece ofmaterial, when completelyrolled, to beejected before another is fed to the machine. shown, themechanism for feeding the conveyer consists 0f chain and sprocketidrives operated from the main driven shaft which carries a sprocket 38for transmitting motion to a second sprocket 39 mounted upon ,a stubshaft 40 carrying a mutilated ,or segmental gear 41. This gear isarranged for meshing engagement with a'similar gear 4-2 upon the shaft43 and both gears are provided respectively with dwell portions 44,whereby the periods of rest-are produced. The shaft 43 carries a gear 25in mesh with pinion 4L6 upon a third shaft 47, which latter transmitsmotion to a sprocket 48 and chain 49 in order to drive the sprocket 50from which the shaft 35 is driven, to cause the 'conveyer' to travel inthe desired manner. 51 designates an adjustable idler-for engaging thechain 49 and maintaining the proper tension as will be understood. Theshafts 40, 43 and 47, as here shown, are mounted upon an adjustable basemember52 in order to take up wear or the like as required, this actionbeing made possible by the adjusting screws 53, which are mounted in thefixed :base 54 and operate against the base 52, aswill be apparent. Inconnection with the sprocket 50, it-should be noted thatit is preferabheto transmit movement to the shaft 35 means other than a direct positiveconnection in order that the variation in the feeding =of the material,due to the speed increase during the.

rolling operation, may be properlyicompensated, and for that purpose thesprocket 50 is mounted loosely uponthe shaft 35 and carries one element5501 a clutch, which normally engages the other clutch eleinent 56. Theelement 56;while keyed, as indicated at 57 to the shaft 35., is alsocapable of sliding axially upon the shaft and is" normally maintainedin-clutching engagement with-the part by the spring58,

The latter, as will be understood, has a hearing at one end against afixed part of the frame, while at its opposite end it seats upon afollower 59, which carries the clutch As here.

part 56;. It shouldbe noted that angle i of the clutch teeth isfs ichastopermit the clutch to automatically release if the :teech.

ing speed of the material exceedsjthe driv-a ing speed of thesprocket50; y 7 N Referring now to the rolling andiforming 5, that endstandards GOareprOVided and arranged in spacedirelation and have trans-.verse tie-bars 61 which form support *for a ;plura'lity joffixed(castings 62, the lat-v ..ter forming respectively, gu'ideplateibear.ings for the forming mecfhanismpwhichf will be presently described. IThe stand ards are in the nature. of end-platesv each of which is,provided witha plurality of bearing slots 63 of which, inthe presentinstance, there "are five, each forming a .bearing and seat for amovable, as "well as rotatable shaft 64-, it being understood that thereare five such shafts-to correspond to the number of end bearings andwill be seen from Fig. 3), these shaftsextendtransversely ofthe'fmachi-ne in -parallel. relation and serve respectively to supportthe rolling I and forming ,devices. The shafts 6-1. are

mechanism it will beseen from Figs.n3 and definitely arranged withrespect to :the axis of rotation ofthe material beingrolled andare allnormally equally distant. from this axis. and are movedsimultaneously-to Lpreserve the same relative arrangement. The means forthus shifting the several shafts 64 consists of'two cam-plates 65mounted respectively in the end standards 60 and of circular contour sothat they may have a restrictcd rotary movement. It will be understoodthat the standards '60 are suitably vcast to form circular recesses orbearings n which the respective plates 65 arelocatedg Each of the plates65 is provide'd with a roller 63 arranged tol ride'upon the-surface ofthe respective cams 69, these cams 69 beng carried upon a transverseshaft 70 and receivin motion throu h the followin i e s. b

means. a v.

71 designates a beveled gear fixedtoithe shaft 70, and'meshing. withalike ame upon the'spindle 73 which also carries another beveled gear'ZtmeshingiVitli a beveled gear 7 5 upon the stub shaft 76." This stubshaft 7 6 carries a worm wheel 77 driven by the worm 7 8 on spindle 79which receives 7 motion from the main shaft 37 by-thefbeveled gears 80and .81.. LItiwill .ithus 'be evi I dent-that the shaft is in continuousoperation, While the machine is running and the cams 69 are. eitherrocking the cam plates to *diverge'the shafts 64 or are holding the camplates in normal position. It will further be notedfthat'jthe contour ofthe cams 69 s such as toshift the shafts 64 substantially in'synchronismwith the increase in the'di- 'ameter of the roll of material while it isbeing formed, and in this connection-the. devices for guiding andforming the material rollwill now'be described. 82 designates aplurality of guide rolls mounted'respectively upon the shafts 64 and soar- 15 ranged that the rollers are in staggered relation, but providingan opening between them in the path of the material to allow the latterto enter the forming devices, as

will be understood. In the present instance, there are two sets oftheseguide rolls 82 though it will be understood that the numher and locationmay be varied according to requirements without departmg from thepresent inventlon.

shafts 64 are all given a rotary movement by means of sprocket pinions83, secured to the. respective shafts and driven by the chain 84 fromthe sprocket 85 on stub shaft 86.

The shaft 86 also carries a gear 87 in mesh witha gear'88 upon the mainshaft 38, as will be evident. v

Referring-now to the forming devices, it will be seen by reference toFig. 8, that the castings 62 are each provided with a plurality ofradially arranged undercut guideways'89, each of which is adapted toreceive one of the movable former jaws 90. As

. 1 these jaws are all of similar construction, the

:parts.

same reference numerals will be applied to all and the descriptionconfined to but one of them. The jaw 90 is suitably arranged to slideradiallyin the ways 89 and has a yoke-shaped inner end portion 91, whichformsa journal box for a freely movable bushing 92 mounted upon thebearing sleeve '93, which latter rotates uponthe shaft 64.

94 designates the forming rolls removably mountedlupon bearing points95, each jaw being adapted to carry a pluralitysfofsuch rolls, of which,in this instance, three are employed in relatively close relation toform a substantially continuous moving surface. These rolls are adaptedto contact with the material toform itv into a roll of cylindrical form,as will be understood.

Each, of the ways'89 has a slot 96 to permit the-free movement of theshafts 64 and not interfere with theproper operation of those Inassembled condition, the several I jaws 90 form together a substantiallycomplete circular bounding wall concentric with the axis of'the roll'ofmaterial and unbroken except for the inlet passage 97 for theV-Inaterial. 98 design'atesga belt driven a In order to moreeffectually; guide the material byv these rolls, the

by a suitable pulley 99 upon the main shaft 37,. the said belt passingthrough thefyoke portionof the jaw in contactwith the'movable bushing92, then around guide rolls 100 which bring it baclrof the former rolls94, as will be evident from Fig. 8. Suitable counterweight rolls 101 areprovided to maintain the proper tension upon the re s ctive belts andalso serves to restore the jaws to their normal position. after arolling operation. r

In order to remove the roll material, I

have provided an automatic ejecting mechanism which becomes operatlvesubstantially at the time of the completion of the rolling operation,and in thepresent construction engages the roll or package and passes ittransversely of the machine and axially of the rolling mechanism, sothat it may be readily handled and removed. For this purpose, anejecting disk 102 is employed preferably of circular, contour of lessdiameter than the diameter of the opening formed by the forming rollers94, so that it may pass freely from one side of the machine to theopenings 104 and consequently, inthe path of movementof the traveler103. As here shown, this traveler 103 is connected at opposite sides tothe ends of a rope 105 of suitable material, which passes overguidepulleys 106 and also about the sheaves 107, one of which isintermittently actuated, as will be explained, to feed the traveler in107 is suitably mounted for rotation with the counter-shaft 108 whichhas a bevel Y pinion 109 in mesh with a beveled gear 110 upon a stubshaft 111-, it being understooda reciprocatory manner. .The drivensheave J that the ratio between the gears is properly 'designed for thespeed. and movement required. Theshaft 111'is suitably journaled andcarries a pinion 112 keyed or other wise secured to rotate with it andthe said pinion is locatedrbetween innerand outer concentricallyarranged segmental-gears 113 and 114, which gears comprise themastergear 115-,- which determines the directionof the directionoftravel-of the ejector. reference to'Fig. 14, it will be seen that thegeared or toothed portions of'the mastergear 115 are'located out ofalinement so that when one is in mesh withthe pinion 112, the other willbe out of mesh and as these portions 113 and 114 engage opposite sidesof the pinion 112, it is evident that the shaft V 1111 will first berotated in one direction and.

11 20 7 rotation of the pinion 112 and 'consequenltgly which conform tothe curvature of the outer and inner circumferences of the rest portionof the gears; The part 116 is provided to cooperatewithsuitable flanges117, concen trically arranged and spaced apart to form a track to oneside of, the plane of the gear rolled for shipment'or use. i

are rejected by theoperator are allowed to portion and in which thepinion-flange. 116 rides as: the master-gear is rotated. master-gear iskeyed to the shaft 78and is consequently continuously in, operationsince it is driven from the main shaft 37.

The operation of the machine is-as follows:

The material to be rolled is previously cut toslze before coming to. themachine and maybe in the form of a rug, a mat, a carpet or any suitableshape or. material whichis to be rolled as a unit and these cuts, rugsor whatever they maybe, are delivered one at a time, to the table2,where there is an operatorwhose duty it .isto separate the sec- 1 ondsor poorer grade'of material from those whlchare tobedehvered to themachine and Those WlllCll drop beneath the table 2 by moving it throughtheoperation of lever 3 whereupon suchrejected material passes downthein-.

dined way a through the roll 5 andis dc posited upon the waiting truck.The accepted material is passed into the feed rolls 12- and 13 whereitsopposite side edges pass between the jaws 21 and 22 of the conveyerclamps.

long to permit them to properly place themselves with respect to thematerial and there after the roller 25 of the jaw 22 engages thespring-pressed track 29 and the said jaw V is brought to closed orgripping position upon the material and the latter is consequently fedforwardly with the movement of the conveyer and delivered to the rollingmechanism after passing through the feed rolls 33 and 34. At this point,the clamps at opposite sides of the material successively come intocontact with the second set of cams and the jaws 22 are automaticallythrown open so that the material is disengaged from the clamps as itpasses through the feed rolls 33 and 34:- The conveyer for the materialis preferably operatedin an intermittent manner in order to allow theejecting mechanism to discharge a completed roll and return to itsnormal material is ed into the rolling and forming mechanism. Thismomentary rest period of the conveyer is taken care of by the segmentalor mutilated gears' il and 42 which The 7 These clamping jaws have beenopened at this time by the cam tracks which hold them in open positionsuiiiciently osition before another strip of are continuously actuated:by. motion trans;

mitted from the mainzdriven-shaft Tihei material passing through therolls 3'3 and-"34; enters the forming and rollingmechanism. through theinwardly tapered" opening 104 and at once comes into contact withthe endrolls 82 of the series of guide-rolls and also with the belt drivenformer trolls9i, which causes the end of the material to be turned backupon itself desoribinga substantially circular path, and after'oneconvolution, the endof the material meets the body of the entering:material after its edge has been suitably turned in and .thusconvolution after COIIVOlLltlOII is wound in splra'l form. Naturally,the diameter of the roll'increases as the successive convolutionsareadded and, 4 consequently, the tension produced upon the.

'slidable formers by the counterweights 101 is overcome-and the formersare forced radially away from the axis of the roll.

Thisopening movement ofthe formers 90 is controlled :in a positivemanner by the cams 69 operating in con unctlon with thecam roller 68 andas the'contour of the cam is definitely laid out with regard to'theuniform increasing of the roller "diameter, it 7 will be evident thatthe cam plates 65 are so shifted as to simultaneously move the shaft earadially-outward and thus carry the' formem as well. asthe gulde-rolls82 radiallv' away from the axis ofthe roll, though still allowing therolls 82and formers 91"toremain in contact with the material as it isbeing formed into the rolls. Upon theco'nI- pletion of the roll, thedriving means has brought the master-gear into such a position. that thegear teeth 113 mesh with pinion 112.

and thus transmit a movement to the sheave *107 which causes thedrivingrope to feed the traveler 103 from the right, as seen in ice Fig.3, to the left and thereby push or eject I the roll from the side of themachine ready for use. Vhen the ejector hasreacheda position where theroll is free for removal, the master-gear has rotated to a point whereit is out of mesh with the gear 113 and comes natural tendency for thespeed of the mate rial to increase, owing to the increasing 1 diameterof the roll and in order that this may be compensated, there is,provided the clutch release mechanism illustrated in Fig.

21. Under normal conditions, thespring 58 retains the member 56 inclutched relation with the member 55 and consequently the conveyor movesat the same speed as the sprocket 50. If, however, the rolling speedincreases and exceeds the speed of the sprocket150, the pulling tensionof the materialjissufiicient to overcome the tension of ;the spring58and the clutch is automatically released. i v hat I claim is:

" 1. 'Inadevice of the character stated, a

frame, a feeding mechanism mounted on :said frame for deliveringmaterial to be' 7 rolled, driving means for said feeding mechanism,forming devices for automati- -cally rolling the material into'apackage,

and means for automatically releasing the feedingmechanismffrom thedriving means under higher speed conditions than the speed of thedriving means.

2. In a' device of the character stated-,a

' mechanism-for forming material into a roll comprising a support, aplurality of jaws radiallyarranged upon said supportand each adapted toslide thereon,'rolls respectively carried by said jaws forming thebounding walls of a substantially circular 5.

opening,and means to yieldingly hold said j aws in normal position. y

3; In a device of the character stated, a

mechanism forforming material .into a roll In a device ofthecharacterstated, a

v mechanism for forming materialinto a roll comprising a support, aplurality of jaws tively carried by said jaws forming the bounding'walls'of a substantiallycircular opening, means to rotate said .rolls,and

mal position.

5. In a device-of the character stated, a-

mechanism for forming material into a roll comprising a support, apluralityof jaws radially arranged uponsaid support and each adapted toslide thereon, roll's r'espec: tively carried by said jaws forming thebounding walls of a substantially circular opening, and cam controlledmeans. for

shifting said jaws 'radiallysimultaneously of said support. I

6. In a'device of the characterstated, a

mechanism for forming material into a roll comprising aisupport, 'aplurality of jaws radially arranged upon said support and each adaptedto slide thereon, rolls respectively carried by said jaws forming thebounding walls of a substantially circular opening, cam controlled meansfor simulsupport, and means to rotate said rolls.

7; In a machine of the character stated, 7 the combination of a support,means ineluding a plurality of slidable jaws for:

radially arranged upon said support'and. Z

each adapted to slide thereon,- rolls respecmeans to yieldingly holdsaid jaws in nor taneously shifting said jaws radiallyof said 1 iformingmaterial into aroll, andqmeans for 'yieldingly holding said awsin operative 1 position. r r 7 7 I WILLIAM iLLiiTz.

